Was the first intelligent alien life that the Human Sphere became generally aware of the Om (the race that Libertos and Helots belong to)? Or were Antipodes discovered and found to be intelligent, and that information relayed back to Earth, before the original wormhole collapsed?
Antipodes were discovered first and an specimen was sent back to Earth, but got lost in space-time and reached Europe during the XVII century, giving birth to the werewolf (not-so) myth. The Om were first seen during a fishing competition in Varuna and discovered to have a particularly good taste when cooked in plasma fire. When a few of them were heard screaming (something like "awwww you sonofabeach!") the Rainbowpeace organisation intervened and the debate about their intelligence was open.
After the Ariadna crossed through the wormhole, it collapsed shortly after, (I think it might have been as the second ship of proper colonists tried to cross through and sent them far adrift to crash on paradiso) Antipodes were discovered within a year or so after landing, and a misunderstanding immediately caused things to violently escalate.
Recorded by the humans, yeah. Unofficially... the Tohaa conspiracy in Paradiso exchanged "culture" with the 2nd ship of colonists. As in, bullets and mind control. Then the colonists raised their middle fingers and a nuclear mushroom ensued, because of the ship's main generators.
